


I Won't Stay in a World Without Love

by Lucky107



Series: The Wanderer [18]
Category: Fallout 3, Fallout 4
Genre: Disobeying Orders, Gen, Heroism, Morality Check, Rivalry, Soldiers, Swearing, Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-19
Updated: 2017-03-19
Packaged: 2018-10-07 21:16:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10369593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucky107/pseuds/Lucky107
Summary: She's not a Brotherhood soldier and that makes her dangerous.





	

**Author's Note:**

> A World Without Love - Peter and Gordon - 1964

“Knight Bullion—”

“Cassidy.”

“—what is _she_ doing here?”

Arthur Maxson gestures rudely toward their guest with an accusatory tone. At Cassidy’s side a young woman stands with her chin up and her blue eyes unwavering. It’s evident that she is - or was - a soldier in some capacity, but she’s not a Brotherhood soldier and that makes her dangerous.

“This is Reno Sween,” Cassidy explains with a level tone. “As the only person in the Commonwealth to have known access to the Institute, she is imperative to our mission and she has agreed to speak to Doctor Madison Li on behalf of—”

“Enough!” He commands and Cassidy readily obeys. “You’ve told her too much already, Knight. _Why_ should we trust her?”

“I—”

“Because I’ve vouched for her.”

Robert Joseph MacCready strolls onto the flight deck as cool as you please.

Cassidy had hoped he wouldn’t be so smug about his reintroduction to Arthur because the Elder isn’t a very patient man, but he’s wearing that same shit-eating grin he wore when he told ‘Elder’ Maxson to shove his callous new rules back in the Capital—and that was the last time they had spoken.

“Of course,” Arthur says through a stiff jaw, his eyes never leaving MacCready’s. “I should have known that _you_ would have something to do with this.”

Cassidy, however, grunts in disapproval. “You’re still such a child, Arthur. Did you retain nothing from Elder Lyons'—”

“Owyn Lyons was a coward,” Arthur corrects. “Lyons, Rothchild—”

“— _Sarah_?”

The Elder has to bite his tongue to avoid giving Cassidy the verbal lashing she undoubtedly deserves. “They diverted from the mission of the Brotherhood of Steel and put us _all_ at risk, prioritizing the well-being of wasteland riffraff and—”

“Riffraff?” Cassidy balks. “I hope you don’t mean _me_.”

“I—no. Of course not. I mean—”

“MacCready?” And she cocks a thumb in the boy’s direction. “You have no idea what it’s like trying to survive out there, in the _real_ world. These people—this _riffraff_ —have done just fine for themselves these past two hundred years without you and your Brotherhood of Steel.”

The moment Cassidy takes a step in Arthur’s direction, however, Butch DeLoria catches her under the arms and all but lifts her back a comfortable distance.

Arthur laughs.

“Is that what this is all about?” He asks, mocking Cassidy for her outburst. She struggles against Butch, but he restrains her from making any hasty decisions. “You’re upset that you’re _nobody_ in the Commonwealth?”

“I’m upset by your blatant disrespect for mankind,” she corrects. “I’m upset that you’ve written off Elder Lyons and his beliefs as a failure because he had the courage to open his heart, his mind. If it wasn’t for Elder Lyons then none of us would be here right now - and you seem to forget that. My place will always be in the Capital—and so will _yours_ , you son of a bitch, so you’re going to give this woman clearance to pass our message along to Doctor Li so that we can get back there, where we _belong_.”

Arthur recoils from Cassidy’s lecture with surprise before he clears his throat loudly. The last thing he wants to do is admit that Cassidy is right in front of an audience - outsiders, at that - but he doesn’t have any other options.

They _need_ Reno.

“You are out of line, Knight,” he concludes. “But you’re not wrong. The next time you bring either of _them_ here, you leave them on the ground. They are not permitted back on this airship again. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”


End file.
